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Public/Private changes and why I make you suffer - Note 5084
Area: Announcements - Note #5084 From: Tyr To: all Cc: Subj: Public/Private changes and why I make you suffer Time: Wed Jan 5 07:51:07 2011 I've put in a new piece of code, this will stop people who're cop spankable from moving into private rooms adjacent to public ones in the same area. Effectively the intent is to stop people running through the Bronze etc while toting a huge axe or covered in blood and then hanging out in the couches as if they magically disappeared when they moved into them. I'd like to also explain briefly, using the recent workout code as an example of what goes into the motivations to implement these types of code because contrary to popular belief I am in fact not a sadist out to ruin your lives. When a person runs on a treadmill they are aspiring to improve their cardiovascular fitness, in order for this to happen the system must be taxed to an extent where the body believes it needs to be improved. Taxing this system requires a large amount of oxygen to fuel it, leading to the person running breathing heavily. Talking requires a steady exhalation of breath which inhibits the ability to breath heavily and reduces the oxygen intake which in turn causes increased lactic acid build up. In short, talking while running is uncomfortable and this is why nobody who is running wants to hold long conversations, generally prefering if they have to speak to do so in short bursts which will not take away from their breathing for very long. Additionally as a game mechanic the workout code is a time sink, it asks you for a certain amount of your time that you might prefer to spend doing other things, such as socialising, and rewards you for that time with vit bonuses and a nice posterior. An issue began to arise and increase in prevelence ever since jog spam was removed wherin people were indeed socialising while running on treadmills, this caused problems for two reasons. The first is it was very bad RP, says regularly ran into hundreds of words without an elipsis or pause, there were never any emotes to indicate that this talking was in any way additionally taxing or any indication that they should stop running or move the conversation elsewhere because it's easier to talk sitting down than while running. In short despite the vast differences you would expect from a conversation between two people short on breath and two normal people there were no differences demonstrated by people doing this at all. The second problem, is they were effectively getting something for nothing. By being able to do the exact same RP they could do in the Bronze, they were able to do what they wanted, while also incidentally gaining the workout bonuses. This becomes an issue that requires my intervention because not everyone does it. A good number of players continued to not socialise while running or indeed talk in short bursts and show a disinclination to be very chatty while on the treadmills. In short, they were RPing well, and for this they were having to spend less time doing what they wanted and/or recieving less bonuses. Ergo I put in a piece of code to limit treadmill conversations to short bursts to encourage people to RP talking on a treadmill in a more realistic fashion. Consequently I saw people start to use socials to carry on the same extended conversations they were having before, and other people get into the treadmills with someone else and text back and forth. This lead to social extention being impossible while running and severe lag timers being put on texts while running. I do not want to have to keep chasing players around the game with code to close off every conceivable loophole they might be trying to find to get around things. For one thing most of those things they use for loopholes can be used for legimate purposes, and for another it's just a hassle for me. This is only one example but it highlights a lot of what ends up being my job, some people RP well, others play the game to gain the greatest code benefit and thus come out ahead, in order to not encourage people to RP poorly I have to find some way to stop that from working, even if it often closes off other potentially cool possibilities. With every attempt to 'get around the code' or min/max the game you are forcing changes which make things worse for everyone. I highly encourage you as players to think about your RP and the realism of your actions from time to time, rather than concentrating so entirely on what gives the greatest benefit code-wise. I think you will find it to be ultimately a much more rewarding path and it means less work for me chasing you around with a big stick of code. As an additional unrelated piece of advice, it's very common for me to see people log in, seemingly check to see if they people they want to RP with are on and then log off immediately afterwards because they aren't, only to have the person they were likely after log in ten minutes later, check to see if they are on and then log off. Many of you might find it advantageous to learn to idle a little bit. Thanks for your time, Tyr.